Excellent timing. You may recall that I have another daycare provider come in and sub for me every other Friday, so that I can get a few hours out of the house and to myself, to run errands, volunteer in Brooke’s class, schedule doctor appointments, etc.

Two Fridays ago she was coming over, and I realized I had nothing planned for myself! Someone suggested I get a massage, but I figured with it being 8:00, not many spas are open that early and certainly wouldn’t be able to accomodate a 9:00 appointment that short of notice. Then I remembered “Massage Envy“. My sister took me there last year for my birthday. A one-hour massage for $39. That’s their “Member” and “Introductory” price. So I gave them a call and asked them first if they had an opening (they did not) then I asked them if I was eligible for the $39 pricing, and they said yes, since it had been at least 6 months since I was there last. So I decided I would book a 9:00 appointment for the next time my sub would be here, and that was today!

This past weekend, we went scrapbooking at the beach. The “old school” method has us getting up and down and moving around and walking to different tables to get other supplies, bending over to look through paper bins, using lots of muscles in a variety of ways.

The “new” (digital) scrapbooking way is hovering over your laptop, trying to remember to sit up straight, but mostly sitting on a leg with a misaligned spine for a couple hours at a time with the only movement being your fingertips on the keyboard, and movement and clicking of the mouse. Ibuprofen is our friend. We expect to be tight and sore from this. Stupid, isn’t it?

I tried to keep aware of my posture and not slump, and tried to move around occasionally, and thought I was doing an OK job.

Until today.

As I drove to the massage appointment, I decided I would go for a relaxation massage, not a deep tissue massage, and just bask in the serenity of the moment and relax. But as I sat in the waiting room, I realized that my lower back was achy (probably from my new pilates workout routine) and that my shoulders and neck were REALLY tight (probably from the 12-hours straight at the computer on Saturday). So as I walked back to the room, I told the girl that my back was feeling a little tight so she should probably focus on that, but that I was hoping to get a full-body massage.

And she started in. At first it was OK, but then I quickly realized how tender SEVERAL places were and she started kneading and pressing and trying to get those tight muscles to relax. Oh boy. It hurt. She asked how the pressure was when she first started, and it was fairly firm, but not overly, so I told her it was OK. But as she was going along it was hurting more and more and for a moment I thought about asking her to lighten up, but then figured the pressure she was applying was probably what was needed to “fix” me so I’d just endure it.

What surprised me was that I had taken 2 ibuprofen just an hour before the appointment, imagine if I hadn’t!

So the hour was up, she did manage to massage my legs and arms, but for the most part spent 75% of her time on my upper back area. She commented on how tight it was. I asked her how soon I should come back because clearly I need more work, and she said to wait at least 3 days, but try to make it back within a week or so.

So I joined their membership and decided to make an appointment for next week. And I hope to go at least once a month, more like once every 2-3 weeks. I know there are a lot of benefits to massage therapy, and I think I’m at a point where I need it, not just from a pampering aspect.

If anyone wants to get a massage at the Member Price ($39), I have some “referral” coupons you can come pick up from me. Sure, you can get that price on your own, but if you use one of my referral cards and end up joining Massage Envy, I can get a massage at 1/2 price. Just give me a buzz!